As consumers’ appetite for content goes global, content buyers need a new way to quickly and easily find great stories from anywhere in the world. History was made early this year when “Parasite” became the first foreign film to win Best Picture at the 92nd Academy Awards. This trend has come into sharp focus during the pandemic as we see […]
Category: Perspectives
VOD buyers are pioneering acquisition in a post-COVID-19 world
By Ian Mckee 26-05-2020. Published on Digital TV Europe Even before the coronavirus outbreak, the process for acquiring content in the international television industry had been changing at an accelerating pace. Needless to say, the growth of global streaming platforms – both the VoD giants and the thousands of smaller niche players – is a well-documented trend. But coinciding with […]
Content acquisition in the age of social distancing
How content buyers can #stayhome, yet continue to discover and license finished content during the coronavirus pandemic. As people stay home, they are consuming more content, more quickly. HBONow reports a 65% increase in daily binge watching of three episodes or more, and a 70% increase in movie watching. Streamers aren’t the only ones to benefit from increased consumption. Network […]
The launch of Disney+ heralds a Tipping Point for the Entertainment Industry
The launch of Disney+ in November 2019 heralds a new era, not only for Disney, but for the entire entertainment industry. It accelerates the inevitable shifts in the industry that has resulted from the digitalisation of content delivery. With the launch of its streaming service, Disney is now in the game to be a direct-to-consumer brand, with immediate access to […]
The Impact Blockchain will have on the Entertainment Industry
Earlier this year in March, I was invited to be on a panel to speak about the Impact that Blockchain will have on the Entertainment Industry
The New Industry dynamic is Fragmentation, NOT Concentration
Key Fact: The Top 10 Shows in the US account for just 9.4% of viewing — this shows that in the content business the 80:20 rule is increasingly no longer applicable. Contrary to popular opinion — the new architecture of the industry is driving fragmentation and not concentration. See the data below. NB this is US oriented data, it would be safe to assume […]
Netflix Originals vs Hollywood Vs Independents
Whilst Netflix likes to keep our eyes focused on their Originals … the reality is that 92% of their library is sourced externally — and the majority of that from independents. Remember this is an analysis done by an American organisation — and so on Netflix US. It would be fair to say Netflix’s International catalogues, which need to have a higher proportion of local […]
Change Coming in Industry Norms for Content Acquisition
When we embarked on our journey at VUULR we heard time and time again about “Industry Norms” that would never change. Understanding that the industry is almost 100 years old, and given that for all that time the way that Content Rights are bought and sold has hardly changed, this mantra came as no surprise. Changing Norm 1: Output Deals “But […]
An Explosion in Demand for Animation
As the war for audiences (or audience segments) heats up, one of the key battlegrounds is kids entertainment — which means one of the biggest battlegrounds is being fought over cartoons like “Kung Fu Panda,” “Captain Underpants” and “Curious George”. “This is the biggest boom in kids programming production that we have ever seen,” said Michael Hirsh, chief executive of WoW, which […]
Film & TV Content Distribution without a jet-lag
There are apparently 3,000 film festivals that are active at least bi-annually. Each year, film producers and distributors fly red-eye, accruing millions of miles trotting across the globe and spending tons of hours trying to find and talk to the right buyer within short span of a few days. Sellers are able to showcase only a limited and season-fresh front […]